Sunday 28 August 2016

Equipment of a 13th century Pilgrim

This is what I took with me for the pilgrimage:
My attempt to represent the equipment of a 13th centurys Pilgrim.
First column:
A broad felt-hat (302g), a linen undergarment (218g), a rope as a belt (40g) with a leather pouch (86g), a big linen sheet 1,5x1,75m wraped around the hips like a napkin called braies (352g), a belt from nettel cord and leather straps (40g), a pair of hoses cut off before the feet (152g) and a pair of leather shoes sewn inside out with leather heels and soles (640g).

Second column:
Raincape from loden and woolen cloth called pelerine (1125g), hollowed squash called calabash (110g), forked hazel stick (368g), madder red woolen tunic (496g), leather bag containing all my modern things (258g), knive, strings, threads and needles for repair.

Third column and far to the right:
Sleeping bag from wool and linen (1635g), small linen sheet  0,7x0,7m for wrapping food (210g), additional pair of shoes for replacement (768g), another big linen sheet 1,5x1,75m used as a bag (346g) and a thin woolen mat (570g).

This makes around 8kg in total without water and foot. That's not too much for a hike and a lot of it is always ditributed around my body and not really pushing onto the shoulders. The heavy things are the sleeping bag and the mat, which are rather my invention than actual medieval equipment. Anyhow I didn't find any depictions for that, but the raincape was definetaly not enough to keep me warm. Possibly medieval people were just physically more used to live outside than me.
It turned out, that the other pair of shoes could have been replaced by new leather for the heels and some shoemaker tools to save weight. Also the small sheet of linen was rather unnecessary. Therefore carrying two big sheets of linen was quite usefull, so I could always wear one, while washing the other. They dry within two hours.
It should not be forgotten, that the equipment weights a lot more in wet condition, because almost everything soaks up some water. I wrapped sleeping bag and mat into a bundle and kept it under the raincape. There it never got fully soaked in the medium rain and short thunderstorms that I was suspended to.

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